Lo-fi , or low fidelity, is a degraded reproduction of the original source. For the purposes of this article, we will- not surprisingly- focus on only the audio aspect of low fidelity. The reason it is used in audio so frequently is that it has the ability to simulate and mimic recording techniques and mediums, such as tape and early digital audio. Many audio engineers choose … [Read more...]
Sunday Sound Thought #60 – A Perspective on the Growing Pains in VR
The term "VR" encompasses it all. The platform, the technology, the medium, the content, all of which are experiencing a rapid development, rapid failure period during which we have no agreed upon procedures or format. Currently we have just a few key players developing different pieces of hardware with different capabilities and its yet to be seen whether they will continue to … [Read more...]
Playing with the Boundary: An Interview with Eduardo Ortiz Frau
Eduardo Ortiz Frau is a freelance game audio designer based in Austin, TX. He has worked in audio and music production for over ten years and has been working in sound design for games since 2011. He's worked on titles like The Stanley Parable, Apotheon, and Neverending Nightmares. Eduardo Oritz Frau was kind enough to answer some of our questions about his work including … [Read more...]
Thoughts on Limitations in Game Audio
Rob Bridgett is an audio director at Eidos-Montréal. Leonard Paul is the president of the School of Video Game Audio. Images courtesy of Rob Bridgett & Leonard Paul Nine years ago, we collaborated on an article on the idea of limitations for Gamasutra and wanted to see where our thoughts would take us. This time around, rather than produce another article, this … [Read more...]
News: SOMA – Behind the Sound
There's a common joke among game audio artists and designers: if you ask any number of sound designers what genre they'd most like to work on, the odds are good they'll all say "horror", twice. It's no surprise it's such a common answer, either; horror games offer designers some of the most interesting and diverse sound design opportunities one can come across. There's no doubt … [Read more...]
News: Remastering Gears of War – Audio
What is your favorite sound effect from a video game? Reminiscent sounds from arcade, Atari and Nintendo games often come to mind, but effects from a few modern games have also become classics. Yet it is not from their nostalgic qualities that they join Mario's square waves but rather from their versatility and ability to evoke sensations of skin-raising, visceral empathy. I … [Read more...]
Broken Age – An Interview with Camden Stoddard and the audio team at Double Fine
Broken Age launched Act I in January 2014. Funded through Kickstarter with it’s development the subject of an epic (and ongoing) documentary courtesy of 2 Player Productions, the game was noteworthy for a number of reasons. I personally really enjoyed the games sound and music so in August 2014 I caught up with Camden Stoddard, the lead sound designer on the game for a chat. I … [Read more...]